Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Wow, yesterday sucked. I got home and decided that I would go down to Freewheel and get a new rim. Well, it's 4:15 and I have my Weight Watchers meeting at 5:30. I can do this, rush hour is easy if you know your way around. Of course the Vikings are playing a pre-season Monday night game at home. Ah, another complicating factor. Again, no biggie. We'll just run up Park which is much faster than 35W at rush hour. Gah, the bridge just north of Lake is out so I go east on 31st to avoid Lake Street. A left on Cedar and I'm up to Freewheel.

Josh was there and wanted to build up a fancy new rim for about $135, but that's a bit rich, especially for the Specialized. That, and it would take a week to get it. I went for a build wheel instead and realized that I had left my wallet in my bike bag -- at home. They agree to hold it for me (this is why I like Freewheel), I look at the clock; it's 5:00, I can do this, but now I need to take a faster street home. Sheila is in the car and starts whimpering and doing the "I gotta potty, Daddy" dance. Okay, we get her to poop. Into the car and down to Hiawatha. 'Cept I now head north, back into town. Gah, again.

Now, I'm so mad, I'm vibrating. Up to Washington, to Cedar back past the Freewheel and make the correct turn to go south. This is a really slow road -- it's faster to bike than it is to drive -- and the traffic is full of people with semi-functioning nervous systems.

It's green, go.

It's green, go.

Dammit, go, you pinhead. Sheila is cowering in the backseat because I'm now roaring mad, screaming at anything on the road. I make various attempts to shortcut my way back to the house to drop off the dog and I'm foiled at every frickin' stoplight.

Get her home, get to the meeting and I lost my 25th pound.

I got my magnet. I'm much better now.

After dinner, I went back to Freewheel and got the wheel, took the cassette off the old wheel and put on the old tires and tubes. It runs like a dream.

The weather for the ride in this morning was perfect, 60F (15C), no wind, light traffic. And, just so you know, a bike helmet feels weird on a freshly shaved head...

Monday, August 14, 2006

While biking home for lunch, I broke a spoke and the rim went way out of true. I had a broken spoke already and I was hoping that I could get through until my class at Freewheel to fix it. I made it home, but I had to drive back. Oh, the pain, the pain...

Weigh-in tonight, so I guess I'll try jogging there. Oh man, the indignity of it all. I hope I can get my first 25 pounds, because I am so all over that magnet.

I'll take it in to Freewheel and have them rebuild it and this time I'm going to use the double-walled rim. One problem with being a fatboy and biking is that the stresses of typical riding are exacerbated when there is excess stress on the components due to the addition of panniers and contents and the rider's, um, overabundant girth. Fatboy has broken his rear rim twice now and it's getting old, not to say expensive. I've never built a wheel, so I can't do anything myself at this time, but I hope to add the skills neccesary in the future.

I guess this is as good a time to inventory the maintenance I need to do on the bike:

Fix the damn rim -- ain't nobody goin' nowhere 'til that's done.

The CreakyCrank(tm). Annoying as hell and I'm beginning to fear I'm going to lose a pedal.

Beautiful morning for a ride to work -- 60-ish (16 C), clear and no wind. Since today is weigh-in day (more on what this means later), I took a more difficult way. 58th to Penn has the hill by the school that seems to go on forever, but it makes for a good workout. Penn is fast and the traffic is cogniscent of bicycles, so they leave me alone and I have plenty of room in the right lane.

About Me

The struggles of a fat guy on his way to middle age and the classic battle of the bulge. Against him, the entire agricultural and food production system, American Midwestern attitudes towards food and eating and a lifetime of sloth and drunkenness. His only weapon, his bike.